And the award goes to...

SIMPLY GOLF

The Indian cricketers reached the finals of the World Cup, they also reached the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy and they beat Australia in Australia.

Surely, enough to call them the "Team of the Year 2003". Then, there is Viswanathan Anand, who won six of the nine events he played in.

Surely, enough to make him the "Sportsperson of the Year". Much as I love cricket and adore chess "" my son is named after Anand "" the "Sport of the Year 2003" for India is golf.

India now has at least a player on each of the biggest Tours of the world.

Arjun Atwal is on the US PGA Tour besides which he is also eligible for the European PGA; Jyoti Randhawa and Jeev Milkha Singh figure on the Japanese Tour; and there is a group of almost a dozen Indian pros prowling the courses on the Asian PGA Tour.

From January to December, 2003, Indian golf threw up outstanding achievements with amazing regularity.

In February, Atwal won the Malaysian Open, open to both Asian and European PGA Tours and in the process became the first Asian to win more than once on the European PGA "" he won the Singapore Masters last year.

In March, three Indians, Atwal, Randhawa and Singh formed part of the high-profile 12-member Rest of Asia team, which won the inaugural Ryder Cup-styled tournament, Dynasty Cup, against Japan.

In April, Mukesh Kumar emerged as the Champion Player of the Year for the fourth time in succession and carried home record winnings of more than Rs 21 lakh during the 2002-03 season.

In May, Amandeep Johl wending his way back from an injury came within a stroke of winning the title at the Maekyung Open in Korea. By the time the year ended he was in the top 15 on the Asian Order of Merit.

In July, Tanya Wadhwa and Virat Badhwar, two young golfers yet to enter their teens won a silver medal each at the world juniors in the US.

Come September, Randhawa playing in his rookie year banked a Yen 20-million first prize for winning Suntory Open on the Japanese PGA. The same month, Digvijay Singh teamed with Gaurav Ghei to take India into the World Cup of Golf finals for only the second time in history and the first since 1997.

As the winter started setting in November, Atwal of the loping stride and a huge smile, won his second Hero Honda Masters at the Delhi Golf Club and ensured India's stranglehold over this event "" five winners in as many years.

Not to be left behind, Indian ladies' golf also reared up its head, as teenager Neha Majithia made her mark at an amateur event, winning the prestigious Sri Ladies Amateur Open in late November.

And finally, as Christmas and New Year neared, Atwal topped it all by becoming the first Indian to walk into the US PGA Tour.

A world so exclusive that only about 180-odd players get a chance to play on it and they play for as much as $245 million during the year. And if that was not enough, he rounded off 2003 by emerging as the No1 golfer in Asia.

Hey, just in case you guys forgot: the top Asian golfer in 2002 was also an Indian, Randhawa, and Atwal was third.